Orienting button-attaching machine



Nov. 4, 1941. F. H. PETERSON 2,261,281

' ORIENTING BUTTON-ATTAGHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 12, 1958 2 Sheets -Sheet 1 I. I IQ" llu 1 Fgedegz'ck JiReierson,

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 [FFICE =ORIEN TIN G. BUTTON-ATTACHINGFMACHINE Frederick H. .Peterson, Watertown, Conn., assignor to The Patent Button Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 12, 19138, zs'erial'No. 245,278

"Claims.

vMy invention relates to new and useful .im- .provements in ibuttoneattaching machines, and -has;for an object to so construct the hopper that holds the button heads and to so form the chute .from the :hopper to the attaching station that .the ibuttons, on arriving at the attaching station,

will be :in a predetermined or oriented position. Thus, whenattached, the insigniaor reading matter .on the button 'will'be inthe correct upright, readable position.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, mosttack buttons have certain insignia, such as atrade-mark, brand, or=-a fanciful design .on the face of the button. "If the buttontis asolidone, the insignia is stamped or .cast -in the top face of the button head, while if the button is of the shell type, there is provided a cap in which the insignia or design is stamped.

It is desirable that whenthe buttons are'to be attached'to the shoulder straps or fbibs'of overalls or attached to work coats that the design=or brand 'onthe face'of the button be in a true upright, readable 1 position.

Another object of the present invention, there- .fore, is "to provide an extremely simple orienting mechanismgespecially adapted for orienting certain species of buttons, as shown in patents, to wit, Number 2,170g091, granted to -me and Rollin R. Clarke on .August 22, 1939, for Tack buttons,

and Number 2,170,092, granted to me and Rollin Rrclarke on August 22, 1939, for Tack buttons, which mechanism is readily incorporated in a button-attaching machine of the type shown in the patentgranted to me on March 14, 1933 and bearing Number 1,901,375, and in the patent to Franklin E. White, Number 1,901,386, of March 14, 1933. Then, after the buttons have once been thrown into the button hopperof the button-attaching machine, :they will be rotated and tumbled -in the hopper until .such time as certaingrooves or cut-away portions in the end of the hubs of the buttonsregister with certain lands and grooves formed in the peripheral innerfa'ce of the hopper, at which time they may pass in their properly oriented position into the c'hute or raceway to the escapement and then past the escapement to the button-receiving 'jaws directly over the tack and under the plunger (attaching station). The buttons, when arriving at the attaching station, will be oriented, so that on the descent of the plunger to drive the tack into the cloth and up into the button head (to thus attach the button), the button, with its insignia, will be properly positioned and thus appear in its readable position on the *goods'towhic'h ms attached.

:Still another .object of the invention is tozprovide a mechanismtfor orienting a certain type of tack :buttonwherein the :hopper milled 'in a cerltainim'anner, as 'hereinafter'to be fully explained, may ibe'substitutedior'the hopper ordinarily used inthe above referred-totype of button-attaching machine. Also, specially formed chutes will be substituted to thus ma'kethe present form-of butitonaattaching machine capable of orienting the buttons .aswell as attaching them without any other ichange .inxthe machine.

Still another object of the 'inventionis to provide a button hopper:for a button attaching ma- .chinerand its chute with .certainiforms of undercut grooves, .so that the buttons will be fed in :a rapid manner, after once assuming the rightpositionfintheihopper,tothe chute and ondown into the'tattaching station,always remaining in their properly :oriented position. I

:Stillranother object of the invention'is to provide abutton-attaching machine that 'will'automatically orient the buttons, permitting the "buttons :only to pass downto the attaching station afiter they have been properly :and" automatically oriente'd'in the hopper and -chute.

'With these and other objects in view, the invention consistsiin'ceritain newzand-znovel'iieatures and combination of parts, aswillbe hereinafter more .tfully explained and pointed "out in the claims.

Referring now to the drawings showing a preferred embodiment,

?Fig. :1 is .-a side elevation of a button-attaching machine for orienting'tthe buttons, only thatmuch of .thel'ma'chine being shown .as *thoughtneces'sary to illustrate the invention;

- Fig.2 :isian enlarged topplan view-of the hopper, the dotted lines showing the manner of orienting the buttons before they pass into the raceway :or chute 'to .the attaching station;

Fig. 3 .is .an enlarged fragmentary sectional viewonthe line .3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken .on the line 44 0f1Fig. 2;

Fig. is air'agmentary sectional view on the line 55 of Fig.2;

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of one of the buttons;

Fig.7 is .-'a sideelevation of one of the buttons; and Fig. 8 is a top plan 'view showing the insignia on the top face of the button.

Referring now to the drawings and for the moment to Fig. 1, there is showna-button-attaching machineof the type set forth in the patent granted to me on March 14, 1933, and bearing Number 1,901,375, and in the patent to Franklin R. White, Number 1,901,386, of March 14, 1933. Only that much of the button-attaching machine is shown as thought necessary to illustrate the present invention. The hopper, chute, and tucker mechanism for the tacks are not shown, but it will be understood that they will be the same as shown in the above referred-to patents.

The changes necessary in the present construction to make the machine capable of orienting the buttons are, first, a change in the construction of the under edge of the hopper and, second, a change in the raceway and chute that lead the buttons from the hopper to the button-attaching station.

In Fig. 1, there may be seen a button-attaching head, having the base I with its curved upright standard 2, on the end of which is the tubular sleeve or bearing '3, in which operates the main plunger 4, which latter is connected by the link to the main oscillating lever ID. This oscillating lever II], it will be understood, is operated through an arm H, which, in turn, is connected to a power clutch, the clutch being operated by a foot pedal (neither of which is shown). The oscillating lever II] is pivotally mounted, as at I2, to the standard 2 of the base I.

Beneath the plunger 4 is the anvil I4, on which there is mounted a carrier l5 with the tackholding jaws Hi. There is also shown the buttonfeeding chute H, which is spiraled or twisted, as at l8, and which extends upwardly to the tangentially extending ear [9 formed on the base plate 20, on which the rotating hopper 2| is mounted.

Directly beneath the lower end of the raceway or chute are the conventional button-holding jaws 22, which jaws support the button head directly over the anvil, so that on the descent of the plunger, the button-holding jaws will first be pushed downwardly directly over the tackholding jaws, after which the plunger forces the button head down through the jaws holding the upstanding tack, which has been fed to the anvil by the tucker mechanism (not shown). The cloth, of course, will have been inserted between the tack and the button-holding jaws.

All of the parts so far mentioned are conventlonal and clearly shown in the patents heretofore referred to.

The slot or raceway in the chute I1, however, is different and will be mentioned more in detail as the specification proceeds.

There may also be seen the main cam lever 23, that is operated on every stroke of the lever I0, this lever 23, in turn, also rotating the hopper for the tacks (not shown) and the tucker slide (not shown), which latter feeds the tacks out to the attaching station to be gripped and held by the tack-holding jaws on the anvil.

It will be understood that the feeding of the button heads and the feeding of the tacks are correctly synchronized, so that when there is a button in the button-holding jaws under the plunger, there will be a tack out on the anvil of the attaching station.

The rotatable button-head hopper 2| is mounted on the post 24 and spaced slightly from the bottom plate 20 and is rotated in a step-by-step movement by the ratchet mechanism 25 through the rod 26 and post 24 and lever Ill. The ratchet mechanism is arranged so that on every upstroke of the lever II], the hopper 2| is rotated through about four teeth of the ratchet mechanism.

In this way, the buttons in the hopper 2| are elevated with the side walls of the rotatable hopper and tumbled, so that in time they will be properly positioned to have their hubs pass through grooves in the periphery of the hopper chute and the bodies of the buttons pass under the hopper (see Fig. 2).

The ratchet mechanism and the hopper are similar to those shown in the aforementioned patents, with the exception that the lands and grooves or valleys on the lower face or end of the hopper are arranged to permit a certain type of button, shortly to be mentioned, only to pass into a raceway tangentially to the hopper when in their properly oriented position.

There is an escapement l secured to the chute H, which permits but one button to pass down the chute to the attaching station on each operation of the lever In, this escapement per se forming no part of the present invention.

Referring now to the gist of the invention, which is the arrangement of the hopper 2| and its associated raceway and chute, particular reference is made to Fig. 2.

The hopper 2| is a cylindrical casting, open top and bottom and having the spider 21 with an elongated hub or hearing 28, which fits over the post 24, the lower end of the hub being slotted, as at 29, to rest on and engage the pin 30, which is secured transversely of the post 24 and spaced slightly from the bottom plate 20, so that the buttons, when the hubs are properly positioned, may pass from under the walls of the said hopper. This post 24 is rotated in a step-by-step movement by the aforementioned ratchet mechanism 25.

On the inner wall of this cylindrical hopper, there are a plurality of upstanding ribs 3|, which also help cause the buttons to be carried around and tumble within the hopper as the hopper is rotated in its step-by-step movement. The hopper may be quickly removed from its post if it is desired. The rotatable hopper is spaced slightly from the plate 20, as mentioned, which latter, in reality, forms the bottom of the complete hopper. So far, the hopper is similar to that shown in the button-attaching machine of the patents heretofore referred-to.

The plate 20 is of slightly larger diameter than the hopper 2| and a raceway 32 is provided in the plate and lug tangent to the hopper, as may be seen to the right of Fig. 2, so that the buttons B may, having passed through the grooves, shortly to be mentioned, in the bottom face of the cylindrical hopper, fall into the raceway 32, which is in registry with the chute l1, heretofore mentioned.

The lower end of the cylindrical hopper is enlarged or flanged, as at 2|, and on its under face is milled, as may be seen in Fig. 2, so that the buttons B may, when they are in proper position, pass radially through the hopper to the raceway 32.

:aacc al teach-succeeding land has 1 a gproj cation-associated ftherewith, ;..as at 316;:as :may the :seen :in :Figs..;2 and;3.

' The. lands: arealso, beveled-slightly at theinner :ends thereof, ;as -.at"3:'l,-so ath'atzif a .button is'in -way ,has an :open side opposite wall 42,:so, in- ;realityrthe'iedge of the :rotating hopp.er 1formsithe other-side wall .of :thexraceway. :The .distance between -the;stationary*wal1 and :side wall of the hopper is -.slig'htl-y less than the major diameter ;of the hub vhutslightly greater'lthan'tthe width measured onthe minor iaxisiof :the hub, that'is, 7 across the flats. Therefore, as the buttonxpasses. out 50f; its .grooveiin the rotating ,cup, zitvis turned in a clockwise direction, due'tothe frictionoflthe *buttonrhead on the plate ZlJ and the .buttQnJhub on the wall lm-and the movement of :the rotating .hopper. The hub of the "button-striking against the :wall 42' and the continued rotation of the hopper thenibring the flats -of, theihub vto'lie parallel with the sides :of :the -raceway, so that thexbutton rcanpass downthe same. "There is enough :play between :the outer corners-of each sgroovei'33 and .the :segment of the hub still in saidrgroove when said hubcontacts thewall 42 ito permit this turning. The. angle at which 'the hub tstrikeszthe wallq42, of course, varies and:dependson :howfar up "it is carried by thei'hopper 'before it :leaves its :groove in the hopper.

.Howevergif ithe button, with its cut-awaypor- :tion'inthe end of the hub,is not positioned oppo- :shown by the topmost 'buttondn Eig. 2,the cut- :away "portion M of the .hub :may 'fit .beneath the cut-away portion 36 of the 'landj3' lsand the .buttonthus :be permitted to properly enter the raceway 3'2 tangent :to the-hopper.

In Fig. 4; which is asectionalzview on theline 4 4 of Fig. 2,:may be seen the raceway .;32:pro'- vided with the overhanging wall '42, the outer site-.theundercut portion of the land in the'hopface 43 of which bears against the flat of the hub ;38 .of .the .button B, so that as the button passes down this raceway 32, it will still be held in its oriented position and be prevented from turningas it passes down the raceway.

In Fig. 3, I have shown how the cut-away portion 36 in the lands 34 will receive the hub of the button when in its properly oriented position.

As shown in Fig. 8, the flats on the sides of the hub and the notch or undercut portion on the end of the hub of the button are in planes parallel to a line running twenty degrees from a line perpendicular to the horizontal line of the insignia. I

It will be remembered that the button starts down the raceway and into the chute to the button-attaching station in an inverted position :butwill besturnedover sothat the face will beup when; itarrivesvat :the ibutton attaching station,

' "due:tothe twist |38rin thechute ll provided for athisgpurpose. 1 v r The-chute ll isyconnected at itssupper end to: the-raceway 32 and the chute is formed with :the;underc.ut, exactlylike the raceway :32. so that zt-he-button tislprevente'd iromturning while movinggalong-in ,the chute. .Although the hub may :havea slightplay,andthebutton'be freeto move rd'own ith-ez ohutexitcannot:possibly rotate in its' in properlyprientedposition will be carried up- :wardl'y and thehubs will pass between thelands and dropinto ='the raceway 32, where-they will pas s down to theescapement ll' and there be 'liberatedlorteachstroke of the'plunger Ifl to the "button receivingjaws 22. 'Then, on the descent of "theplungen'the jaws 22 willbe-moved downwardly directly-over the tack, while a continuation' 'o'f the downwa'rd movement of the plunger vvill force *the tack through the clothup into "the 'button head and ithefbutton willfbe in its properlyloriented position. The remaining .but- "tons Will be 'rev'olved and tumbled until they pass properly out into the "raceway.

Thus, itwill beseenthatonly the buttons in 'their prope'rly oriented position will pass into the "chute or runway, after which they will be prevented from" rotating 'until they are fed into the button holdingfjaws. Here, also, they will be prevented from 'turriingnand now being in their "proper upright *position when attached to the c1oth,- the-insignia or reading'matter will be in the proper-readable"position. Asheretoforementioned, by cutting the-lands and groovesin the bottom periphery ofthe hop- =per,-a n'd by forniing :the cooperating overhanging "walls in the chutefai'button, as describedwith its insignia in certain 'relation to the cut-out portion of "the hub; will "always be "properly oriented be- "fore 'the attaching operation. The hoppe'rand chutes may be installed with but-little phange-ihthe present type of buttonlattaching-machine. I v

of the hopper forming the inner wall of the raceway, an attaching station, a button chutehaving overhanging side walls-registering with said raceway and leading to the attaching station, the under surface of the hopper having ofiset radial grooves, each groove having a projection extending therein from one of its side walls, the said :buttonsz-at-the lower edge of;the hopper that are -Having thus described myinvention, what I' projection in each groove being also eccentric to the central axis of the button when the button is'within its groove, said projection cooperating with the aligning wall on the end of the button and the groove only receiving a button when oriented with respect thereto, the rotation of the hopper in conjunction with the friction between the button head and the bottom of the raceway and the button hub and the far wall of the raceway acting on said button and causing a partial rotation of the button in said raceway so that the flats of the button will lie parallel with the side wall of the raceway, the side walls of the chute also cooperating with the flats on the hub of the button to prevent the button from rotating from its oriented position while passing down the chute to the attaching station, and means for holding the button in its oriented position over the attaching station together with means for attaching the oriented button. I

2. In a machine for orienting and attaching buttons each button having insignia on its face and a hub provided with flatted sidewalls together with an aligning wall in the end of the hub, the aligning wall of the hub being eccentric to the'central axis of the hub and parallel with the said flatted walls; including, a rotatable hopper having offset radial grooves in its lower surface, one Wall of each groove being provided with a projection therein and the said projection coacting withthe aligning wall on the end of the button hub to permit the button to enter said groove and pass through said groove only when in a properly oriented position with respect to said groove, a raceway open on its side adjacent the hopper for receiving the button-from the hopper, the outer periphery of the hopper forming one Wall of the raceway, the width of the raceway being slightly greater than the diameter of the hub of the button through its flats but less than through its larger diameter, the rotation of the hopper in conjunction with the friction between the button head and the bottom of the raceway and the button hub and the far wall of the raceway causing the button in passing from the hopper to the raceway to be aligned in its oriented position, and means for retaining the button in its oriented position until attached.

3. In a machine for orienting and attaching buttons each of which buttons has a hub provided with flatted side walls and an aligning wall on the end parallel with said flatted walls and eccentric to the central axis of the hub; including a rotatable hopper having offset radial grooves in its lower peripheral edge slightly wider than the width of the hub of the button through the flats but less than the larger diameter of the hub, one side wall of each or the grooves being provided with a projection extending toward the center and adapted to contact with the said aligning wall on the hub of the button, the said grooves being adapted to receive buttons when the latter are in only one aligned position with respect to their radial grooves and in a partially oriented position, a concentric raceway on the side adjacent the periphery of the hopper for receiving the button from the hopper, the distance between the periphery' of the hopper and the far wall of the raceway being slightly less than the larger diameter of the hub of the button and slightly greater than the diameter of the hub through the flats whereby the rotation of the hopperinconjunction with the friction between the button head and the bottom of the raceway and the button hub and said far wall of the raceway will cause the button in passing from the hopper to the raceway to be aligned in said raceway, and means registering with the raceway for holding the button in said aligned'position until it is attached.

4. In a machine for attaching and orienting buttons each of which buttons has a hub provided with an aligning wall on its end, the said wall being eccentric to the axis of the hub, each of said hubs being provided with flats on its side and parallel with the aligning wall; including a rotatable hopper having oifset radial grooves, a side wall of each groove being provided with a projectionuthereon extending within the groove, said grooves,respectively, receiving abutton only when the aligning wall of the hubof the button properly registers with the projection in the groove, a raceway having a diameter small enough to prevent the flatted hub from full rotation when therein and thus hold the same in its predetermined alignment as it passes from its groove into said raceway, and a chuteregistering with said racewayhaving overhanging walls adapted to also contact with the flats on the hub and hold the buttons in the oriented position they assumed when in said raceway until they reach the said attaching station.

5. In a hopper for dispensing buttons each of which buttons has a hub provided with an aligning wall on its end and flats on its side; a rotatable hopper open at .its bottom, ofiset radial grooves in the under, periphery of the hopper, each of said grooves being provided with a projection on one. of its side walls and the projection being adapted to contact with the aligning wall on the end of the button, and the portion of the wall beneath the projection and the opposite side wall of the groove being adapted to contact with flats on the side of the hub of the said button to thus hold the button in a predetermined position as it passes through the groove.

FREDERICK H. PETERSON. 

